Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 8 (PTI) Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Friday said the United States' recent decision to impose 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods was a "bullying tactic" to control the country's economy.
The minister said that the US was trying to bully India into accepting more imports from America as "our purchasing power has increased manifold".
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that strict measures would be taken with regard to the US move.
"Therefore, it is a time when all should stand united to safeguard India's interests and oppose such moves which can harm the Indian economy," he said.
Balagopal said the tariffs would adversely impact the export of goods, including fish products, spices, textiles, coir products, and cashews, all of which are imported in large quantities by the US.
He said that the tariffs would also affect the taxation regime of the Indian states and adversely affect the health, education, services and other sectors. It will also affect appointments by the Public Service Commissions, he added.
"It is aimed at controlling the Indian economy like the British did during colonisation. We should not surrender to it. We are not a weak country or economy," he contended at a press conference here.
Balagopal said that he suspects that there will soon be demands from rich nations like the US to rationalise our internal taxation regime so that they can sell their products here.
He said that under a recent Bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the UK, import duty on luxury cars from there has been reduced by 90 per cent.
This, he said, was one of the instances that will affect the tax revenue of the country and its states.
Balagopal said that recently, US President Donald Trump claimed that India and Russia charge the highest taxes and tariffs.
"How does it concern Trump what taxes India and Russia charge? He was actually saying that we should reduce our taxes so that his country can sell their goods here," the minister contended.
He said that any restructuring of the existing tax system would be dangerous for the country's economy.
"America cannot dictate how our taxation system or our economy should function," he added.
He said India's economy should be protected keeping in mind the interests of the farmers and businesses in the country.